They Hadn't Heard
by TheLaikynVictoria
Summary: Shawn is MIA, and Henry is convinced that he just skipped town again. After weeks of no word, everyone begins to agree. But they hadn't heard of the motorcycle crash 2 towns over, nor of the fact that the rider that's clinging to life had no I.D. COMPLETE
1. Before The Fact

**_A/N- Not sure why I started another Psych fic, but I LOVE the show and this idea was forming in my head and I had to write it. This chapter is short, but it had to be ended there.  
>I do NOT own Psych or the characters, no matter how much I want to. :)<em>**

**_Please review! :)_**

**_Also, please please please go to facebook and search "TheLaikynVictoria Fanfiction" (exactly like that, without the quotation marks). There, I give updates on my fanfictions, (like how long before I post the next chapter, etc) fan art and fan videos. I'd love you forever if you did. :)_**

_**Chapter One**_

"He's shown _no_ signs of improving?" Dr. Kane asked, his arms crossed as he looked at the comatose patient with sympathy.

"Miniscule amounts." Dr. Thyne replied, equally as sympathetic. "Poor guy."

"You know that we only have a week left until-"

"I know. You don't need to remind me." Thyne interrupted Kane before he could finish. He didn't the reminder that they would soon be ending a man's life.

_Three Weeks Earlier_

"You were evicted from your apartment, Shawn?" Henry yelled as he entered the Psych office. It was nearly 10 PM and Shawn was sitting one of the arm chairs watching a movie on the flat screen. He jumped up when his father entered.

"Dad, I..How did you know?" He asked. Henry simply raised an eyebrow and continued,

"where are you gonna stay, huh?"

"Well, here... " Shawn motioned around him. "At least until I find a new place."

"When are you gonna start being responsible?" Henry bellowed. "When are you going to grow up and realize you can't just glide through life without a care in the world?"

"I kind of have so far..." the younger Spencer shrugged, causing the elder to seethe angrily.

"I don't know what to do with you anymore, Son." He shook his head.

"Look, despite what you seem to believe, I am _not_ a kid anymore." Shawn snapped. "I made it just fine for ten years of my life without you, and intend to continue doing just fine. Without you."

"Shawn-"

"Get a life, _Dad." _He spat the word 'dad' in disgust. With that, he stormed out the door, letting it slam behind him.

He angrily slammed his helmet on his head and straddled his bike, revving the engine a few times before taking off.

Henry stood in the doorway of the Psych office, watching him. There was a painful churn in his gut, and he didn't quite now why.


	2. During The Fact

**_A/N - Hey! New chapter! =D  
>Please go to facebook and search "TheLaikynVictoria Fanfiction" (exactly like that, without quotation marks) and like my page! I'd love you forever!<br>_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Two<strong>_

He wasn't quite sure what made him lose control of his bike. It was as if the power steering suddenly cut out. He turned this way and that until finally, he skid sideways and started rolling down the rural highway. There were very few cars on account of it being later at night, so he hit nothing else but the pavement. But that didn't matter much. After a few rolls, he finally had the presence of mind to actually let go of the bike. He was sent flying at least ten feet, his helmet flying off in the process. He landed with a sickening _thud_. He didn't see his bike burst into flames, and he didn't see the people stopping along the road to help him. He didn't see the mysterious figure sneak to the front of the small crowd and discreetly steal his wallet and cell phone.

He didn't see anything.

"Juliet O'Hara." Juliet answered her cell phone and cradled it between her shoulder and ear as she typed on her computer.

"Juliet, have you seen Shawn?" Gus' worried tone made her pause.

"No, why?"

"Well, he didn't come into the office today." Gus replied. "He was evicted from his apartment a few days ago, and Henry said that he drove away mad last night."

"Did he say where he was going?" Juliet asked, beginning to feel worried herself.

"No."

"Get Mr. Spencer, and get down to the station." She ordered him, hanging up before he even had a chance to respond.

"Lassiter!" She called, standing up from her desk. "I doubt you have, but have you heard from Shawn?"

"Why in the world would I have heard from Spencer about _anything_?" Lassiter snided.

"He's missing, Carlton." Juliet shot back, dialing Shawn's number on the phone she still held in her hand.

_"This is Shawn Spencer, Psychic detective. Leave me a message if you want but...Ha... I already know that you called." _

Juliet exasperatedly hung up and turned on her heel, going toward the Chief's office. She knocked quickly twice, and opened the door without waiting for an answer.

"Chief, we might have a problem." She told Vick.

The latter looked up at her,

"might?"

"Well, Shawn might be missing." She told her.

"Again," Vick stated, standing up, "might?"

"Well, he was evicted from his apartment a few days ago, and last night he got in an argument with his father." Juliet explained. "He drove away mad, and no one's seen him since."

"Well, it's not an official missing persons case unti-"

"Until it's been 24 hours, I know, Chief, but..." Juliet trailed off. "Can we take that chance?"

"Detective O'Hara, if this _does_ wind up a missing persons case," Vick started, "don't you think there'll be a little conflict of interest?"

"What, you mean... I mean, just because he's my boyfriend-"

"O'Hara, I will look into it, but for now, stay out of it." Vick interrupted.

"Fine, as a detective, I will stay out of it." Juliet stated defiantly. "But as his girlfriend, you have no power over me."

Before the chief could recover from her shock, Juliet stormed out of the office. She went to her desk and collected her purse, keys and gun. As she was leaving, she came face to face with Gus and Henry.

"Guys, go see Chief." She told them. "She'll deal with it."

* * *

><p>As Juliet walked away, Gus heard her mumble something about 'conflict of interest' and 'evil dictator', but didn't pay much attention to it. All his attention was on Shawn and the fact that he was gone. Henry had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire ride to the station, choosing to grunt and nod or shake his head when spoken to. He and Gus approached the Chief's office doorway and greeted her.<p>

"Chief, I guess Juliet told you what happened." Gus stated.

"Mr. Guster, I can't declare this a missing persons case until it has been 24 hours." Chief sighed.

"Chief, he _is_ missing."

"You're awfully quiet, Henry." Chief turned to the aforementioned. "Has Shawn spoken to you?"

"No, he hasn't, and I doubt he's going to." Henry snapped. "He left again. It's not the first time."

"Excuse me?"

"Shawn has done this before." Henry continued. "Things get rough and he decides to leave. It's his thing."

"He just decides to leave?" Gus asked incredulously. "He's stayed here for the past seven years. This is the longest he's been around since we were kids. He wouldn't up and leave now!"

"I know my son, Gus." Henry spat.

"With all due respect," Gus smirked, "I know him better than you ever tried to."

* * *

><p>"Well, we've done everything we can." Dr. Thyne sighed, obviously exhausted. He'd just performed one of the longest surgeries he'd done in his short time as a doctor. Nearly seven hours. The patient also had some of the most grisly injuries he'd ever seen. He had a serious head injury, internal bleeding, he lost two fingers and his right leg was broken in three places. If he were awake, then he would certainly be in a lot of pain.<p>

But he's not awake now, and that's due the coma he refused to come out of.

"You know the standard procedure, right?" Dr. Kane asked. "If the patient is not able to be taken off the respirator in 4 weeks, we.."

"We pull the plug." Thyne finished quietly. "This..This isn't right."

"I know."

"Just because he's a John Doe, it doesn't mean he's not a person." Thyne continued. "We..We can run his fingerprints or DNA..."

"Not without his approval." Kane shook his head.

"His appr...He's comatose!" Thyne exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

"I don't make the rules, Ted." Kane shook his head. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but..Our hands are tied."

"This man could have a family, Mike." Thyne stated. "He could have a wife, and kids. Who are we to take that away from him?"

"Ted," Kane said, turning to his young colleague, "there is absolutely nothing we can do."


	3. After The Fact

_**A/N-FINALLY. I am terribly sorry. There's nothing else I can say.  
>This is the longest chapter for this fanfic! :D :D<strong>_

_**OH. Please go to:  
>.c0mlaikynp and LIKE my writer's page! I'd love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and..Well, you get the idea. :D  
><strong>_

_Previously, in 'They Hadn't Heard'..._

* * *

><p><em>But he's not awake now, and that's due the coma he refused to come out of.<em>

_"You know the standard procedure, right?" Dr. Kane asked. "If the patient is not able to be taken off the respirator in 4 weeks, we.."_

_"We pull the plug." Thyne finished quietly. "This..This isn't right."_

_"I know."_

_"Just because he's a John Doe, it doesn't mean he's not a person." Thyne continued. "We..We can run his fingerprints or DNA..."_

_"Not without his approval." Kane shook his head._

_"His appr...He's comatose!" Thyne exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"_

_"I don't make the rules, Ted." Kane shook his head. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but..Our hands are tied."_

_"This man could have a family, Mike." Thyne stated. "He could have a wife, and kids. Who are we to take that away from him?"_

_"Ted," Kane said, turning to his young colleague, "there is absolutely nothing we can do."_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

Thirteen days without word from Shawn. Thirteen. Lassiter had bought into Henry's 'up and left' theory days ago, and he too missed the pseudo-psychic, though he'd never admit it. Juliet didn't want to believe it, but she had her doubts. Gus vehemently denied the possibility, sticking to his own beliefs that something wrong, and that they needed to find him. Due to this belief, he was out near all day, every day, searching for him throughout Santa Barbara. He did this every single day for nearly two weeks, putting his job at Central Coast Pharmaceuticals at risk. He was hanging on by a thread, and that was _only_ because one of his routes took him to a very wealthy doctor that happened to like him. But Gus knew that much more of this, and he could kiss his position at Central Coast goodbye.

But he couldn't bring himself to care. All that mattered was finding Shawn, which is why now, on the thirteenth day of his disappearance, Gus was entering the last hospital in the entire Santa Barbara and surrounding areas. He approached the counter, not even mustering a smile at the friendly nurse.

"Hi, in the past couple of weeks, has anyone by the name of Shawn Spencer been admitted?" He asked, the question becoming way more familiar than he'd have wanted it to.

"Um," the nurse muttered, turning to the computer, "let me check that for you." After a typing out a few words, and clicking a couple of times, she turned back. "I'm sorry, but no one under that name has been to this hospital."

"Oh..." Gus sighed. He wasn't quite sure what to say...Double check? He was running out of places to look.

"I just started here a couple of days ago." The nurse interrupted his thoughts. "Let me ask someone who might know something." She turned around and nearly bumped into a doctor as she stepped away.

"Oh, Dr. Kane." She stated. "This gentleman wants to know if anyone under the name Shawn Spencer has been admitted in the past couple of weeks. I checked the computer and didn't find anything, but I know how it can mess up sometimes."

"No Shawn Spencer has been here that I know of." Dr. Kane shook his head, then turned to Gus. "I'm the trauma specialist, would he have been in some sort of accident?"

"I'm not sure." Gus replied with a shrug. "He's been missing for a while now."

Something seemed to spark in Dr. Kane's eyes,

"well, actually, we have a-" He was cut off by a loud beeping sound. He looked down at his pager and hesitated. "We have a Joh-" Again, he was cut off by another doctor running up to him and grabbing him by the arm.

"Doe flatlined. We need to defib!" He spoke so quickly Gus didn't even really understand what he said, but Dr. Kane seemed to have.

"Take his information!" Kane ordered the nurse, pointing at Gus, who was now on the phone with a harried Juliet who was speaking 100 miles an hour in his ear.

Deciding to mentally check this hospital off the list, Gus turned and left before the nurse could even say a word.

* * *

><p>"Crash cart!" Kane yelled to anyone who might hear as he ran down the hallway, Thyne right behind him. He entered John Doe's room to find him already prepped for defib, and his heart monitor giving off a steady beep. "Where's that crash cart?" He bellowed, only to have the cart roll up next to him before he finished the sentence.<p>

"Charge the paddled to 200." He ordered, and the nurse did so. "Clear!" He put the paddles to Doe's chest and pressed the buttons. The body jerked, but no cardiac reactions. "300." Again, no reaction. Kane sighed and rubbed more gel on the pads. "400." He sent the electric shocks through Doe's body, and this time, the heart monitor slowly started coming back to life.

"He's back." Thyne stated with a grin.

_"Yeah, but for how long?"_ Kane couldn't help but think.

After they stabilized Doe, Kane went back to the front desk to where the man had been. He approached the nurse with a sigh. Maybe they'll _finally _have someone who knows this Doe.

"Okay, the man that was here earlier?" He asked. "Did you get his info?"

The nurse shook her head with a frown,

"he got a phone call and walked out before I could say anything." Kane deflated at this news, then almost immediately, anger flared up. He slammed a fist down on to the counter as he muttered a curse. The nurse stayed silent, watching the doctor fume.

"We have got to find someone." He stated. "I will _not_ let this man die!"

* * *

><p>Gus nearly ran into the police department, his palms sweating as he looked around for the Chief, Jules, Henry, or even Lassie. He had just driven nearly an hour back to the station from St. Johns Pleasant Valley hospital in Camarillo.<p>

"Gus!" He looked up to see Jules motioning to him from the Chief's office doorway. He fast-walked toward her and entered the office, looking around at the somber faces.

"Oh my God...What happened?" He asked, feeling his heart starting to be about a million miles an hour. "D-Did you find Shawn?"

"Not Shawn, Mr. Guster." Vick shook her head. "But his motorcycle was found in a wreck yard in El Rio, just outside of Ventura."

"Ventura?" Gus repeated. "That's like, 30 miles away. Why would he be out there?" Even as Gus asked, he knew it was a dumb question, as he had just been at St. Johns, which was nearly 25 miles _past_ Ventura."

"The bike was wrecked." She continued. "Extensively."

Gus' heart, which had previously been beating 100x too fast, now fell into the pit of his stomach. This couldn't be happening. Of course, he had thought this was a possibility. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have went around to all those hospitals.

"Are you sure it's his?"

"The wreck yard is required to run the license plates of all vehicles." Vick nodded. "We had a red flag on it to alert us if and when it was ran."

Gus shook his head. If his bike was found, 'extensively wrecked', where in the world was Shawn? He then remembered something, turning to Henry,

"think he still just 'took off'?" He asked accusingly. "Shawn could be...Shawn could be hurt, and for nearly two weeks, you've just assumed he up and left! How ca-"

"You don't think I haven't been out there, every single night looking for him?" Henry interrupted. "I looked for him when he took off when he was 17, and I have been now! He's my _son_, Gus!" He stormed out of the office, then, slamming the door as he went.

"Gus..." Juliet said softly, reaching a hand out to lightly touch his arm, which he yanked back. He shook his head and looked down quickly so as to hide the tears that were building up, then stormed out just as Henry had a moment before. A tense silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Vick spoke up,

"the bike is being examined by forensics." She told Lassiter and Juliet. "I should be getting a call any minute."

"Chief, we are _officially_ opening a missing persons investigation now, right?" Juliet asked her. "I mean, we have evidence now. _Firm _evidence."

"Detective, I opened the investigation a couple of hours ago." Vick answered. She then turned to Lassie, "I want you point on this, Detective Lassiter."

"Of course, Chief." He nodded. He had been uncharacteristically quiet during the whole exchange, from the time Vick told them, to Gus and Henry's fight, to now.

"I trust you can stay objective." She stated rather than asked, and Lassie nodded in the affirmative. "Detective O'Hara-

"Yes, Chief?"

"I want you working other cases." Vick told her. "I don't want you on this one."

"Chief!" She objected. "This...It's Shawn! I can't _not_ do anything!"

"You _won't_ stay objective," Vick shook her head, "and I can't endanger the investigation."

"I was on the case last time Shawn was missing!" Juliet tried to reason.

"You were not in a relationship with him then, Detective!" Vick replied. "This is not a request, it is an order." The phone on her desk suddenly started ringing, and she reached down to answer it.

"Chief Vick." She listened a moment, her face paling slightly. "Thank you."

"What happened?" Juliet asked her immediately after she hung the phone up.

"The steering damper, which controls the steering stability, was tampered with." She informed the detectives. "It would have been fine for a while, but eventually would have made Shawn lose control of the vehicle."

"Tampered with?" Lassie repeated. "Are forensics sure it wasn't just an accident."

"100%." Vick told him with a sigh. "Okay, Lassiter, I want to find any reports of motorcycle accidents in the past two weeks in the Ventura area."

"Chief..." Juliet spoke up, a pleading looking her eyes. Vick sighed, again, and hesitated before she said,

"Start going through Mr. Spencer's past cases. Look for anybody, and I mean _anybody_ who might have motive to harm him." A thought seemed to cross her mind then. "Also, get Buzz to go find Mr. Guster. Whoever has done this might also want to hurt him." Lassie and Jules nodded and exited to office. The former immediately went to his desk and brought up the police database search, entering 'motor vehicle incident+Motorcycle+June 10th-June23rd+Ventura, CA'. As he saw the amount of hits he received, he realized that more people drive motorcycles in California than he thought.

Juliet, however, found Buzz and explained the situation.

"So just go to Gus' apartment and sit on it until we have more information." She told him. "We're not expecting anything to happen, but just to be on the safe side..."

"Of course, of course." Buzz nodded. "I'll go right over."

She nodded back and went to her own desk, deciding to go over his police cases first, and then go to Psych and go over his private ones.

* * *

><p>Gus stormed out of the police department and climbed into the Blueberry, angrily slamming his seatbelt on. If he didn't let himself be angry, he'd be depressed and crying, and he decided to choose anger over tears. He peeled out of the parking lot and into traffic, the entire conversation replaying in his head. Had Henry <em>really<em> been out looking for Shawn every night since the disappearance? Had he really looked for him all those years ago when Shawn just up and left right after he graduated? His thoughts then turned to Shawn himself. Where was he? Was he even alive? If he was in a motorcycle accident, why hasn't a hospital contacted them? What if he was in an accident, then kidnapped?

Before long, Gus felt the tears coming, again. This time, he didn't fight it. He let the tears fall freely as he pulled into his apartment building parking lot. He put the Blueberry in park and pulled the keys from the ignition and threw them into the passenger seat. The tears just fell, and soon, the anger and the sadness meshed together and the tears were falling and he was screaming and yelling obscenities to no one but himself. The hurt and the anger and the sadness and the not knowing...They were all boiling inside of him and were eating him alive. His best friend was gone, possibly dead. Who knew? None of them did. He continued screaming, and yelling and crying until his throat hurt and nose was running, and then he continued. He knew that this whole Psych business would be the death of one of them, he truly did. Maybe not consciously, but he knew. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew. But he didn't know that facing the possible death of his best friend, his only true friend that he'd ever had, would be this hard. And the thought that Shawn might be alive did nothing to console him, as there was a better chance that he was not. Gus could feel himself becoming lightheaded from the yelling as he pounded his fist into the side of the steering wheel. Slowly, he started to come down from his breakdown, but then he suddenly let out one long shriek before letting his head fall forward onto the edge of the wheel. The sudden silence seemed to resonate throughout the car as he shut his eyes and sighed a shuddering sigh.

When he thought himself composed and able enough to get inside, he grabbed his keys and made his way slowly inside his apartment. As he entered, he immediately noticed that something smelled...Off. But he put it off as his tired mind playing tricks on him. He shrugged out of his jacket and kicked off his shoes before settling at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He sat there staring at it, his hands cupped around it. He probably looked lost in thought, but he wasn't. After his little fit of emotions in the car, he was spent. The only things on his mind as he stared at his coffee was sleeping, and the peculiar scent that seemed to hang in the air. After a few more minutes of mindlessly staring into his coffee, he decided to take a nap, as he was suddenly even more tired then before. He stood up, and felt the entire place sway...Or was it him that was swaying? His vision blurred and he felt himself sweating. He numbly unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt pulled at the neckline of his white t-shirt he wore underneath. Why was it getting hard to breathe? A sudden, high-pitched beeping made him snap his head up at the fire alarm on the ceiling. The sudden movement caused him, in his dizzy state, to fall to the ground. When he realized that there was no smoke, and that his smoke alarm was also a CO2 alarm, whatever alertness he had left kicked into gear. He attempted to rise from his kitchen floor, but found he couldn't. Instead, he slowly started crawling the long journey to his front door.

Fresh air. He needed fresh air.

* * *

><p>Buzz pulled up to Gus' apartment building and got out of his cruiser, adjusting his belt, and making his way to the Gus' front door. He noticed a faint beeping that only grew louder as he made it closer to his destination. By the time he was outside the apartment, he could tell the beeping was coming from the inside, and that it was a smoke alarm. He felt the door to see if it was hot, and only felt cold metal. He sniffed the air and smelled no traces of smoke. He tried the door and found it locked. He started knocking,<p>

"Gus! You in there?" He tried to yell loud enough to get over the beeping. He pressed his ear to the door, listening for the faintest clue as to what was going on. He was about to back away when he heard faint coughing.

"Buzz?" He heard Gus croak, just barely over the alarm. "Buzz, help!"

McNab's full-on police instincts kicked in, then, and he took a few steps back, then kicked the door with all his might. The hinges broke and the door fell inward. He pushed past it and ran inside to see Gus nearly unconscious on the floor in front of the kitchen doorway.

"Gus, what's wrong?" He asked, looking around and seeing nothing amiss, minus the annoying beeping of the alarm.

"C..CO2." Gus told him, breathing heavily. "It's a carbon monoxide detector." Buzz's eyes grew wide, and he quickly leaned down and picked Gus up and carried him outside. He sat him on the ground against his cruiser, and then reached into the vehicle and grabbed the radio.

"Cruiser 367, Officer McNab." He spoke into it.

"Cruiser 367, go." Came the garbled reply.

"I have an 1155." Buzz spoke quickly. "Possibly C02, I need backup and medical personnel ASAP." He rattled off the address, then turned back toward the apartment.

"Where-" Gus coughed. "Where are you going?"

"I've got to get everyone out of this building!" Buzz told him. And with that, he went and started pounding on every door. "I'm a police officer and you need to get out of the building. There has been a serious gas leak!" He'd yell. After a few minutes, a few residents helped him go through and make sure that everyone was out. Within ten minutes, everyone was out and the police, fire department and ambulances had arrived. Buzz rushed over to Gus as he was being loaded on to a stretcher.

"Hey, Buddy, you're gonna be just fine." He assured him, walking next to him as they wheeled him toward the ambulance. "We're gonna find who did this, and...And we're gonna find Shawn. Okay?"

"Buzz, don't let them give up." Gus croaked out. "I-If something happens to me, promise me you w-won't let them...Stop looking for Shawn."

"Nothing's gonna happ-"

"Promise. Me."

"...I promise."

* * *

><p>O_O<p>

Mwuahahah. :D


	4. Jerky and Soda

**_A/N- Hey! I'm so sorry it's been so long! I've been super bust recently with Thanksgiving, and Christmas and New Year and then my great grandmother passed away a few days ago and my entire family has been really busy.  
>But here is a chapter to tide you all over! :) Lol I hope you like it, please review it!<br>Also, pleas 'like' me on facebook! :)  
>laikynp_  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

Guilty. Henry Spencer felt guilty. Admittedly, the feeling was nothing new, but he never thought he'd be standing over the unconscious body of his son's best friend; his own 'adopted' son, and be feeling it. Sure, he hadn't been the one to pump Gus' air vents full of CO2, but had he not snapped at him, maybe... He shook his head, trying to expel the thoughts.

This. Was. Not. His. Fault.

Henry let out a deep sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets. He watched Gus' face, his eyes were moving behind his eyelids, leaving him to wonder what was going on inside his head.

"Sir?" Henry inhaled and looked up to the doctor who had entered. "You should go home. It's late."

"I-I can't." He shook his head. "His family's on vacation and there's no one else..."

The doctor sighed, and nodded,

"alright, I'll have a nurse bring in a pillow and blanket," he told him, "so you'll be more comfortable."

"It's alright." Henry shook his head. "I don't need them."

The doctor sighed and left the room, leaving Henry alone with the unconscious Gus.

And that's where he stayed, all night.

* * *

><p>Lassiter awoke with a start, slurping the drool that had worked its way down his chin back into his mouth. He looked around and realized that he had fallen asleep at the station, at his desk. The lights were all off save for his desk lamp, masking the entire office in darkness. He sighed and rubbed his neck, trying to work the knots out. He had been working all night, trying to figure out who could possibly be trying to kill Spencer and Guster. O'Hara, he knew, was at the Psych office, going over all of their non-department cases after not finding anything substantial in the police cases. He wondered if she was awake, still, or if she had fallen asleep like he had.<p>

He signed and looked at his computer screen, the '_Santa Barbara Police Department'_ screensaver bouncing around the screen. He moved the mouse, causing the screen to come to life again. What was he even doing? He'd looked into all possible leads. He'd been at this for weeks. Granted, in the first thirteen days of Spencer's disappearance, he hadn't believe he was actually missing, but still.

Sooner or later, they were going to have to realize that the case had run cold, and that the chances of finding Spencer were slim to none.

* * *

><p>Juliet had succumbed to tears around three AM, and had been crying since. Even as she worked through the case files, tears fell from her eyes, causing small wet spots to form on the papers. She attempted to reign it in, but it proved futile.<p>

The case was cold, there's no denying that. Unless she could find something in these files, Shawn could potentially never be found, and this very thought is what caused her to start crying an hour earlier. After another thirty or so minutes of crying, and finding nothing, she leaned back in Shawn's desk chair and laid her arm across her eyes, leaving her hand dangling at the side of her head. And that's how Lassiter found her three hours later, fast asleep. He almost didn't wake her, but decided she could use some breakfast, and probably a shower, as well, as he wasn't sure if she'd bathed since Shawn went missing.

"O'Hara." He shook her gently, and she woke with a start.

"Carlton?" She asked, looking around. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured you'd be here." He shrugged.

Juliet sighed and worked her neck around, working out the kinks.

"Are we ever going to find Shawn?" She asked after a moment. Lassiter looked at her, contemplating his answer.

Truthfully? Probably not. He's been missing for two weeks already, and his bike had been found completely wrecked and burned. The chances of him being alive were slim to none. Instead of saying all of this, however, Lassiter solemnly settled on,

"I don't know."

_**Nine Days Later**_

Gus was laying on the couch in Henry Spencer's living room, staring at the ceiling. It was nearly two AM, and he hadn't slept since six the morning before. He had been released from the hospital four days prior, but only after promising to take it easy. Now, it had been 23 days since Shawn had disappeared, and the case had run dry. They were no leads whatsoever, the police had moved on to other, more pertinent, cases. Ones that _weren't_ cold. Of course, Gus and Henry didn't stop looking. Sure, they weren't 'police sanctioned', but with Henry's experience and Gus' 'business' mind, they made a pretty good team.

But, how had life come to this? Him losing his job at West Coast, leaving his apartment and living at his missing best friends fathers house so they could spend their days searching for said missing best friend, on absolutely no leads other than a scorched bike.

How did it come to this?

Four hours later, at 6 AM, Henry woke Gus up by smacking him on top of the head with a rolled up newspaper as he walked past the couch to the kitchen. Gus yawned and slowly sat up, his recent sickness and lack of sleep making this task extremely difficult.

"It's too early to be awake." He moaned, sleepily making his way into the kitchen and plopping down in a chair. "Way too early."

"Please, Gus, I slept in." Henry stated, slapping a few pieces of bacon on to a skillet. "The mind is much sharper and clearer earlier in the morning."

"Right now, my mind feels like jello." Gus mumbled, laying his head in his arms. "Plus, I didn't actually fall asleep until nearly four."

"You too, huh?"

The unspoken reason for their not being able to sleep hung in the air as Henry continued with the food. Soon, both men had eggs, bacon and toast in front of them.

"What do we do?" Gus asked in between bites of ketchup-covered scrambled egg. "I mean, we have no leads."

"It's never stopped me before." Henry shrugged. "Or you."

"Well, we can't exactly retrace his steps." Gus sighed. "I mean, we know where he started, point A, and where his bike ended up, point B, but we don't know what happened in between the two points."

"Well," Henry shook his head and dropped his fork on to his empty plate. "Then let's figure it out."

* * *

><p>"I'd still like to know how <em>you<em> know he stopped for gas." Gus stated as he and Henry approached the fourth gas station in between the Psych office and El Rio, having had no luck with the first three.

"Because, Gus, El Rio is 30 miles away." Henry replied. "His bike only had a quarter tank of gas."

"I'm not even gonna ask how you know that." Gus retorted with a grin. "You're as bad as Shawn."

"Yeah, well…" Henry shrugged as he pulled his truck into a spot hastily. "He had to get it from somewhere."

Gus just shook his head, the grin slowly fading from his face as they climbed out of the vehicle. They entered the small, run down gas station and approached the counter. Henry produced a picture of Shawn from his worn-out wallet, holding it up to the clerk behind the counter.

"Do you know if this man came in here about three weeks ago?" He asked him. "Three weeks ago?" The clerk repeated. "Nah, Dude, I wouldn't remember."

Henry inhaled sharply, then let the breath out slowly.

"Do you have security tapes?" Henry clipped.

"Yeah, but I don't know if we keep 'em for that long."

"Can you find out?"

"Sir, I'm awful busy-"

"This man is my son, and he's been missing for twenty-three days." Henry interrupted angrily. "And I will stop at nothing to find him, and I mean _nothing_." He glared at the clerk for emphasis, and the now-scared young man fumbled and mumbled and went to the back of the store.

"That's one way of getting things done, I suppose." Gus commented, and Henry nodded in reply. After a few minutes of waiting, the clerk returned with a small TV and tape player, and a few tapes.

"Okay, S-Sir, these are the tapes from June the eighth to the thirteenth." He stated as he set the monitor down and set it up. "What date would he have been in here?"

"The tenth." Henry replied, leaning on the counter, waiting for him to start the video. "Or maybe the eleventh, after midnight."

The clerk nodded and inserted one of the tapes, fast-forwarding it to night of June tenth, and when there was nothing there, he went forward to early-morning on the eleventh. And then, finally, Shawn appeared on the tape. He entered the store and for a very brief moment, he looked around the ceiling, his eyes fixing on something a moment, and moving on. His eyes then landed on the camera that had recorded the tape they were watching, only for a moment, until he moved on.

"I taught him that." Henry informed Gus softly. "Find out where you're being watched from whenever you enter a building."

"I've never really even noticed that he did that." Gus mused as the continued watching.

Shawn picked up a couple pieces of jerky, a bottle of soda and proceeded to the register. He paid, and then walked out.

And that was it.

He walked out of the building and out of the camera's view.

"Wait, wait, wait…" Gus spoke up, standing up straight. "Do you have a camera outside?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Get that tape for the time that he's in the store." He demanded, and the man did so.

After he got it and put on the right time, they watched. Shawn's motorcycle was parked at one of the pumps. They watched as Shawn entered the building, leaving the outside undisturbed. Until a car pulled into the parking lot and parked, a dark-clothed figure swiftly climbing out of the driver's seat. The figure moved to Shawn's bike and revealed the engine, messed with a few things, and then returned to their car as quickly as they'd got out. Henry and Gus stared, dumbfounded, at the screen for a moment before Henry whipped his phone out to call Lassiter.

"Can you rewind it?" Gus asked the clerk, who nodded and rewound it. The former stared intently at the screen, watching the perpetrator's every move. He watched their hands as they messed with the bike, and that's when it hit him. The unknown person apparently could not use her index and middle finger on their right hand.

"Gina!" He exclaimed. "Oh my God, it's Gina!"

"What was that, Gus?" Henry asked as he hung up his cell phone.

Gus just shook his head in disbelief,  
>"it's Gina."<p> 


	5. 3:18

**_A/N-I just want to apologize in advanced for the ending of this chapter. Please review! :D_  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

"I need an APB on Mary Armstrong, uses the alias 'Gina'." Lassiter demanded into his cell phone. "Wanted for the possible kidnapping and murder of a civil servant."

He hung the phone up angrily and rested a hand on the front counter of the convenience store. He rubbed his temple with his other hand, trying to prevent the inevitable headache. He sighed deeply and looked over at the picture of Spencer frozen on the security monitor. It was the frame where he looked right at the camera, and Lassie almost felt like he was staring right at him. He felt the anger rising in him as he continued staring at that picture. He had spent the first two weeks of Spencer's disappearance, not believing he was even missing, and by God, he was going to make up for that.

"Alright, what do we got?" He exclaimed, drawing the attention of Henry, Gus, Jules and the convenience store clerk, whom they had learned was named Keith. "Spencer stopped for gas on the eleventh of June, it is now July fourth."

"Whoa, wait…" Gus cut in. "It's seriously July fourth?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because, well… I didn't even realize it." Gus shrugged, and the others nodded, realizing that they, too, had totally forgot about the anniversary of their country.

"Okay, so possible scenarios " Lassie continued with his brainstorm. "Given that Gina tampered with the motorcycle, he probably wrecked some ways up the road."

"Between here and El Rio." Henry stated. "Which is about nine miles."

* * *

><p>Five days later, Gus and Henry were in the latter's truck, and Jules and Lassiter were in their sedan. They drove slowly, about fifteen miles per hour, down the rural highway between the convenience store and El Rio. (Their third time doing so) They were scouring the road and surrounding grassy and dirt-covered areas Henry suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing Lassiter behind to do the same. Henry threw the truck into park and jumped out, running to the shoulder of the road and squatting others joined him and saw what he had seen from the truck; a wallet, and a cell phone with a suspiciously familiar green case.<p>

"H-How is it still here?" Gus asked. "I mean, if this happened four weeks ago, how are these still here?"

"We haven't had any rain in this area." Lassiter stated as he slipped on his emergency latex gloves. "No rain, and hardly any traffic means these things probably aren't damaged in any way." He picked the wallet up carefully, dreading what they all knew would be inside. He opened it slowly to reveal a picture of a goofily-smiling Spencer on the driver's license that sat behind the little plastic screen.

"What are these doing here?" Gus asked, feeling worry (and bile) rising up. "Did they fall when he crashed?"

"Not likely." Jules stated as she picked up the phone. The screen came to life after she clicked the button, and she punched in the familiar passcode. She searched through the recent calls, all of them being her and Gus from the day before he crashed.

"Nothing in here." She told the others. "Nothing suspicious."

Lassiter retrieved evidence bags from the trunk of his car and he placed the phone and wallet in them. The sound of the small 'plop' as the items hit the bottom of the bag resonated around them, telling them that they were getting closer. That it was only a matter of time before they found him.

* * *

><p>"She wouldn't have kidnapped him, would she?" Gus asked as they entered the department. "That doesn't make any sense. She wouldn't have been able to do it by herself."<br>He paused,  
>"maybe she's not doing this by herself! Maybe she-"<p>

"Guster!" Lassiter interrupted. "Will you shut it? I have a theory, now quiet!"

Lassiter approached his desk and typed furiously on the computer. "Now, there are three hospitals in the area surrounding the crash site." He started. "Two of which have trauma centers. St. John's and El Rio Memorial."

"And the wallet and phone were tossed so he'd be taken in as a John Doe!" Jules cut in with a grin. "We almost have him."

"But we have a problem." Lassiter stated as he rose. "Assuming Spencer is in some sort of comatose state, otherwise he would have been able to contact us, the hospital has him register as a John Doe, like you said."

"Yeah, so?" Henry asked him.

"There's a law in place in Ventura county." He told them. "To save room for more pertinent patients. Any persons registered as a John Doe will have any and all forms of life support turned off four weeks after being admitted if the identity has not been discovered."

"And if he's comatose, it's likely he has life support." Jules stated softly, her hand flying to her mouth. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The four of them rushed into El Rio memorial hospital an hour later, all of them reaching the front counter at once and startling the receptionist.<p>

"I need to know if a John Doe was admitted four weeks ago." Lassiter ordered, showing his badge. "Now!"  
>The receptionist hurriedly typed on the computer, and then turned back to them.<p>

"A John Doe _was_ admitted four weeks ago." She told them. "With extensive traumatic injuries."

"Take us to him." Lassiter demanded, and she nodded. She walked toward the elevator, and Lassiter's yelled command of, "now!" sent her nearly running.

They made it to the fourth floor and they took off for room 412. Gus' heart pounded in his chest as they approached the door. Would he finally be seeing his best friend after three weeks? The best friend who was presumed dead, but now might be alive? They entered the room with a knock, and approached the man in the bed, only for each of their hearts to fall.

It wasn't Shawn.

"This isn't him." Lassiter informed the receptionist. "Come on, let's go." He directed his second statement to Jules, Henry and Gus, and they nodded sadly.

After a very tense twenty minute car ride, they puled into the parking lot of St. John's hospital, the last little bit of hope they had was dangling by a teeny tiny thread. They entered this hospital in the same manner as the last one, again startling the receptionist.

Lassiter repeated the same demand he had before and the woman checked the computer.

"Yes, we do, but he was scheduled to have his life support removed today." She told them. "Do you know who it is?"

"Maybe." Henry spoke up. "Does he have an old scar on his chest from a heart surgery? He had it as a child."

"He does." The woman stated after looking at the file on the screen.

"Well stop it, then!" Jules exclaimed. "We know him, he works for the Santa Barbara police department, I'm his girlfriend. His name is Shawn Spencer, now please, just stop it from happening!"

"I..I'm sorry, I can't." She told them. "You'll have to find his doctors."

"Who are they?" What are their names?" Henry asked her, and she turned to the screen again. "Dr. Kane and Dr. Thyne." She told them. "They should be here now, probably on the third floor."

Without another word, the four took off sprinting for the stairs, collectively deciding the elevator would be too slow. They made it to the third floor in under twenty seconds and they looked around hurriedly.

"Hey!" Lassiter yelled, raising his badge for anyone who decided to question him. "I'm looking for Kane or Thyne."

"That's me." A young man stepped forward. "I'm Dr. Thyne. What can I help you with?"

"Your John Doe." Lassiter told him. "Don't stop his life support. His name is Shawn Spencer and he will _not_ die today!"

Another man approached the group, then, and Thyne turned to him excitedly.

"Kane, these people know Doe!" He told him. "They've identified him! Don't stop his life support!"

The man looked horror-stricken,

"I.. I just.. I'm so sorry." He said softly. "I just shut it off."

"Well turn it back on!" Thyne demanded. "He could make it!"

"i… I can't.." Kane shook his head and cleared his throat. "I pronounced him dead at 3:18. I'm so sorry."


	6. Suddenly they're your friends, Lassie?

_**A/N-Whaa? I know, I'm on a roll! This IS the last chapter, guys. Please please please review and let me know what you thought.  
>Also, please go like my facebook fanpage. :)<br>/laiyknp**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

The group of people stood dumbstruck for all of two seconds before Dr. Thyne took off in a dead sprint down the hallway. The others followed closely behind, dodging random doctors and nurses. Given that they were in the ICU, a crash cart was parked to the side of the hallway on the way, and Thyne grabbed it and pushed it into the room that Shawn inhabited. A couple of orderlies were just beginning to wheel his covered body out of the room when Thyne ordered them to stop.

"Plug the life support back in, now." He demanded. "Hook him back up, and I mean _now_." He pulled the sheet back from Shawn's face, eliciting a gasp from Juliet and Gus. His face what ghostly white and he was just so _still_. Thyne ripped Shawn's hospital gown open in the front and pressed the charged paddles to his chest.

"Clear!" He ordered, even though there was no one near the body. He pressed the buttons, sending the electricity through the still heart. When the heart monitor that had been turned back on didn't sway from the single beep, he upped the charge and tried again. But again, nothing. After two more tries, finally, a little blip… And then another. And another.

"He's back." Kane stated incredulously. "I.. I can't believe it."

"Shawn." Juliet mumbled, tears welling in her eyes. "We got you. We finally got you."

While he didn't wake up, his heart monitor stayed consistently steady. Thyne and Kane straightened the bed and machines and got Shawn comfortable before checking his other vitals. Juliet went to his side and took his hand in hers, surprised to see his thumb and ring finger gone.

"Oh my God…" She said softly, rubbing the nub gently. "Shawn, I'm so sorry this happened to you. So sorry." As Gus and even Lassie approached the bedside, Henry stayed back, only intently studying his son's body, assessing his injuries. The broken leg was obvious by the large cast going from foot to upper thigh. The missing fingers, and then a head injury, judging by the part of his hair that was just a tad thinner than the rest, having been shaved in the last few weeks and then grown back.

After a few moments of them softly conversing between themselves about what would happen next, Henry approached the bed and leaned down to his son.

"We're not leaving, Shawn." He whispered. "And I'm not letting _you_ leave again."

**Three Weeks Later**

The sight was an interesting one, that was for sure. Gus was lying on the cold floor of the hospital room, curled in a ball under the window, fast asleep. Henry sat in the straight backed chair, his chin barely resting on his chest and arms folded, also asleep. Juliet was lying on the too-small couch, her knees drawn up. She, too, was asleep. The previously-comatose patient had awoken and was quite dazed. He saw his family and friends around him, but was unsure as to exactly what was going on. Henry seemed to sense that something had changed, and his eyes snapped open. He saw Shawn and let out a whoop-yes, a whoop, of excitement. (It was probably the beer he'd had three hours prior)

His yell woke the other sleeping persons, who also displayed their excitement.

"Shawn!" Gus exclaimed. "I can't believe you're awake. Oh my God, this is great."

"Yes! I knew you'd be fine." Juliet grinned widely. Gus, having lost his job, spent his days and nights in the hospital, vigilantly at his best friend's side, along with said best friend's father. Juliet worked her nine-to-five and spent her evenings at the hospital so long as no case stood in the way. It was routine, now, to be there with a sleeping Shawn, and now, he was awake, and they couldn't be more happy.

"I'm gonna go get the doctor." Henry informed them. Shawn watched after him, still with no idea what was going on. he surveyed his surroundings, obviously deducing he was in a hospital. He looked down at his body, seeing the missing fingers and wiggling his hand.

"What happened to my fingers?" He asked bluntly.

"Shawn, a lot has happened in the last month and a half." Juliet said softly, calming down for Shawn's sake. She sat down in the chair Henry had occupied and scooted close to the bed, taking Shawn's hand in hers.

"Month and a half?" He repeated. "I… My powers must be jumbled by my apparent head injury." He reached up with his other hand and rubbed his head. "My head hurts, by the way."

Gus grinned ear-to-ear. If Shawn can joke, if even a little bit, then he was already well on his way to recovering. Juliet attempted to explain things as best as she could, leaving out the more complex things and choosing to be more generalized.

"So… Gina did this?" He asked softly. "All because we put her in prison for grand theft last year?"

"She went away for 11 months," Juliet nodded. "She got out two months ago on parole for good behavior."

Shawn scoffed,

"good behavior. Yeah right."

* * *

><p>Lassiter and McNab, along with two other uniforms, entered the abandoned home silently, their guns drawn. They cleared the first floor and silently ascended the stairs, Lassie motioning for the two uniforms to stay behind and for McNab to follow. They silently checked each room down the narrow hallway, leaving only one at the very end. Light laugher could be heard, and smoked tinged the air. Lassie motioned for Buzz to open the door.<p>

"One. Two." He mouthed. "Three."

Buzz swung the door open and he and Lassie pointed their guns at the people inside. Gina, Paget, and two people from Gina's old crew were sitting around a card table, playing poker and smoking cigarettes. They froze, shocked at the sudden interruption. Lassiter approached Gina and ordered her to stand with her hands raised. While he cuffed her, Buzz kept his gun trained on the men in the room.

"Mary Armstrong, you are under arrest for the attempted murders of Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster." Lassie started. "You have the right to remain silent, anything-"

"I didn't do nothin'!" She interrupted, struggling against the cuffs.

"You tried to kill me friends." Lassie seethed. "And that is most certainly 'something'."

He led her out of the room and towards the stairs,  
>"anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law." He continued her miranda rights. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights."<p>

"I said I didn't do anything!" She exclaimed, once again struggling against the cuffs, as well as Lassie's tight grasp, which tightened.

"Do you understand you rights?" He repeated angrily, stopping in the doorway of the house.

"Yes." She stated through gritted teeth. "I do."

**One Month Later**

Shawn, Gus, Lassie, Jules and Henry all sat anxiously in the court room, watching the Gina/Mary's trial. They had all already given their testimony and it was now down to the final minutes. Finally, the judge cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone present.

"On two counts of attempted murder in the first degree, this court finds Mary Armstrong," the judge started, "guilty, on both counts."

They small group silently celebrated as the judge adjourned the court, announcing that Gina would be back the next week for sentencing.

They were standing outside the courthouse ten minutes later, idly chatting, when Gina was lead past them, handcuffs around her wrists. She glared at Shawn firmly, never blinking and never looking away until she was forced into a car.

There was a long, pregnant pause before Shawn let out a low whistle,  
>"well <em>that<em> was mildly creepy."


End file.
